St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson testified last month that he wasn’t sure whether it was illegal for priests to have sex with children while he served as chancellor of the St. Paul and Minneapolis archdiocese.
The former chancellor gave a deposition last month in a lawsuit that claims the Minnesota archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona created a public nuisance by keeping information on abusive priests secret, reported Minnesota Public Radio.
The 69-year-old Carlson also faces a massive clergy abuse lawsuit in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where he’s served as archbishop since 2009.
One document made public in that case shows more than 100 priests and church employees have been accused of sexual abuse, and the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the archdiocese to turn over their names under seal.
The Minnesota lawsuit was filed by a man who claimed a priest abused him during the 1970s, and Carlson told the plaintiff’s attorneys that his understanding of those accusations had changed over the years.
“I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,” Carlson said. “I understand today it’s a crime.”
The accuser’s attorneys asked Carlson whether he knew in 1984, when he was an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, that it was illegal for priests to have sex with children.
“I’m not sure if I did or didn’t,” Carlson said.
How is it possible that somebody did not realize that raping young children was against the law in 1984 and was deserving of punishment?
In 1984 I was 24 years old and knew full well what was, and was not wrong or illegal.
And the thing that really burns my ass is that these people are supposed to instruct the rest of us as to what is, or is not good or evil. They are the arbiters of morality for fuck's sake.
The very fact that this idiot did not think that raping a child rose to the level of criminal activity demonstrates why NOBODY should take moral or ethical advice from the Catholic church.
I have a suggestion for Robert Carlson. Spend a couple of nights in a jail house or a state prison, among the rapists and those who will sodomize him, and then let's hear him say that rape isn't a crime.
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.twincities.com/loca...
HEADLINE: From former Twin Cities bishop: 193 'don't recalls'
[Anderson pointed to the 1986 deposition of then-Winona Bishop Loras Watters -- involving another Adamson lawsuit -- to illustrate what he said was Carlson's willful "amnesia."
Anderson asked Watters whom he had consulted before the
deposition. Among others, he talked to Carlson -- who had already been deposed on the case, Watters said.
"I guess, Bishop Carlson, after I received his deposition, I said, 'Is that as tough as it looks like?' you know."
Anderson asked, "Is it?"
Watters said, "He said the best thing you can say is, 'I don't remember.' "
Carlson said in his May deposition that he didn't think he said that, and "I don't think he would have ever called me."
One thing Carlson did remember was that he did not tell police about alleged sexual abuse by a priest.]
Oops!
I don't recall worked for Reagan 124 times.
DeleteHere is something which helps straighten all this out. Just make a little addition to the sentence.
ReplyDeleteThe very fact that this idiot did not think that < A PRIEST> raping a child rose to the level of criminal activity
I am fairly sure that back in 1984 Bishop 'I don't remember' Carlson knew that it was illegal for everyone else EXCEPT priests to rape children. WHAT A SICK FUCKER THIS GUY IS. Have they found it necessary to declare bankruptcy due to the number of child rapists they had in the Twin Cities Archdiocese?
"I don't remember." Yeah, RIGHT!
DeleteFrom the "Richard Nixon quick answer compilation" Whatever the question, the answer is "I don't Recall"
DeleteThese creeps have been very well coached as to what to say for minimum monetary damage. Apparently, they don't believe in God, the Bible, the Ten Commandments, heaven or hell because they would certainly behave differently if they did.
ReplyDeleteThou shalt not bear false witness . . . I guess he forgot that, too.
ReplyDeleteThis man should not be a priest! He's a liar and he KNOWS it! This deposition will be scrutinized along with others he has made and they WILL contradict what he has said here.
ReplyDeleteOh. And gryphen? I wold like to make one small alteration to a line you wrote here.
"They are the arbiters of morality...."
Correction: They are SUPPOSED TO BE the arbiters of morality...."
To Catholics they ARE the arbiters of morality. The Catholic Church either kicks them out for being wrong, or they kick you out for not believing them. There is no buffet line in Catholicism - you take it all or you leave it all. The closer the leadership gets to your parish, the more you must believe them. This wasn't some Pole in Europe, this was a guy in their neighborhood sanctioned by the Pole in Europe. They either believe in the unity of their faith or they don't.
DeleteI have to say, I grew up as Catholic as a child could be force to be, and I never heard anything of this. Of course, they weren't likely to tell us anything about it in Catholic school. I don't know what my parents knew. I suspect that there was a grand conspiracy of silence about it. If someone asked at the church level, I'm sure that they were told it was a lie. This man was in control of the lie. He deserves to rot.
Commandment #11 - "Thou shalt not covet thy congregation's kids."
ReplyDeletePriest: "I cannot recall if I raped THAT particular child..."
ReplyDeleteWell, duh, the f*ing seminary you graduated from didn't mention anything about the legality of sex with children. Too busy studying how to enrich the church coffers and exploit nuns for slave labor?
ReplyDeleteCarlson is still hoping to lie his way out of prison (and the hell the he tells us awaits sinners just like him). He's still an archbishop so he must have some powerful people in the Vatican still making his life all sweet and wonderful and fun.
This 'man' will rot in hell. And that's too good for him.
ReplyDeleteTaking this one liar's words, alone, doesn't do justice to how commonplace these crimes against boys and girls. Look at the database (and I doubt highly all the cases are accounted for yet) then wonder how an ARCHBISHOP can't define the distinction between a crime of sex and violence on minors. He's gunning for an insanity plea is my best guess.
ReplyDeletehttp://bishop-accountability.org/priestdb/PriestDBbylastName-A.html
I went to, what was once the largest Catholic High School on the east coast, Cardinal Dougherty, since shutterd and vacant, and while the trials were going on here, priests and nuns who taught my brothers, myself and many of my classmates were listed, along with how it was resolved and what happened to the victims (not referred to by name). Many turned to drugs, alcohol, and suicide.That database has been removed, but now even more have come forward. One Archbishiop was sent to Rome, another replacement mysteriously died a day before he was to testify, and the new guy, Chaput, really cracked the whip and more victims have come forward. He's busy busy busy trying to get Pope Francis to visit our city,
This reminds me of a time I was in the hospital and a nurse who could barely shoehorn herself into a chair, began to advise me on proper nutrition.
ReplyDeleteAside from the great art created under its patronage, the Catholic Church hasn't anything to brag about.
Well, he certainly knew it was a sin. Just like he certainly knows that lying is a sin. I don't think that the 10 Commandments have changed that much.
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I KIND of get his point. He didn't know the law, so he didn't know if it was illegal. Is he suggesting that the Diocese didn't consult an attorney at the time? If not, why not?
ReplyDeleteThen again, there's always that pesky "ignorance of the law is not a winnable defense" thing.
They are asking the wrong question! It shouldn't be 'did you know it was illegal?' It should be 'didn't you know the f*** it was wrong?"
ReplyDeleteHere is a report on the deposition of a self admitted child rapist who found his victims all over the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona. Raping and molesting boys between the years of 1964 and 1984, yet another Catholic believer in the idea that priests having sex with children is "a sin rather than a crime."
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2014/06/adamson_confesses_sexually_abusing_children_video.php
"But the craziest thing is, he can't remember a single church official ever asking him for the names of all the children he abused."